SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth men's tennis will open Northwest Conference play this weekend, taking on Whitman in Walla Walla on Saturday and Puget Sound at home on Sunday.

Check the tennis schedule for live updates on all the weekend's action.

The Pirates: Whitworth (1-5) is coming off its first win of the season following a tough non-conference schedule. The Pirates beat Whitman for the first time in more than two decades in what was considered a non-conference match. A sweep in doubles played a huge role in the win, the #2 duo of Payton Romey and Ethan Warring finished up first with an 8-5 win, 3 Colby Cinqmars and Jess Weaver won 8-4 before #1 Henry Preacher and Nathan Tjelle pulled off an 8-7 (7-4) win to claim the sweep. Tjelle and Preacher also won their singles matches to clinch a 5-4 win for the Pirates.

Since Whitworth's road trip to play Montana and Montana State (Division I competition), the Pirates have looked strong. They fell 3-4 to L&C State in Lewiston but looked sharp in an 8-0 tune up against CC of Spokane before pulling off a narrow win over Whitman.

The Coach: Daniel Redfern took over as head coach in October of 2023 and is in his rookie campaign after working as an assistant since 2019. Redfern was a two-year standout for the Pirates, earning first team All-conference honors in 2011 and 2012 after transferring to Whitworth.

The Opponents: Whitman (1-6) is currently sitting at the bottom of the Northwest Conference. The Blues have fared well in NWC play over the last several years, and they will seek redemption against the Pirates on Saturday in the first counted conference match.

Artem Manov and Diego Guzman are the #1 and #2 singles players for the Blues, and Charles Rush has been the one to join Manov for the #1 doubles spot. Whitman is coached by Jeff Northam who's coached the team since 1997 and led them to 15 NCAA Tournaments.

Puget Sound (1-4) will visit the Scotford Tennis Center on Sunday coming off two straight losses, Whitworth is the conference opener for the Loggers.

UPS is led by Jason Rowe and Noah Henderson who generally play the #1 and #2 singles roles. Henderson has teamed up with Conor Blakeney for the top doubles match.

The Loggers lone win was over Willamette in what was played as a non-conference match, they won that one 7-2. The Loggers finished sixth in the league in 2023 and will look for better things this season. Puget Sound is coached by Matthew Simons who's in his fourth season with the program.

Looking ahead: Whitworth will be on the road against Linfield and Lewis & Clark on March 9-10.